Amplifier clean / repair or replacement

Hi.

My Pioneer A-209R has started to often be quieter on the right channel. This first started when selecting between A and B speakers and would take many presses to get both the channels to be balanced.

Since them, I've checked all my cables, given the amplifier a blow out to attempt to remove the dust and the problem still is there.

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http://www.wetherby.me/wiki/pub/Sandbox/RandomImages/P1150341.JPG

Listening carefully and using the balance control, the right channel is just that bit quieter on both A and B speakers. It also doesn't sound quite the same. It sounds noticeably thinner as it lacks a little bass in comparison to the left channel. There is also some noticeable cracking and popping with the balance control and when listening on very low volumes even on direct, the right channel cuts out before the right.

This problem isn't there 100% of the time, but it does constantly keep coming back.

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I'm thinking it will need some more cleaning out around the dials, but not really sure how I should do that or what sort of places would do amplifier repairs.

I thought of getting a new amplifier, but where have all the budget integrated amplifiers gone? I can't find one that looks like it is at least decent hifi that isn't well over double the cost of my current amplifier.

I bought my A-209R back in 2011. It got replaced due to a fault in the years warranty and has been fine since until recently. It cost around £140 new and I remember seeing loads of similar models like the A20 replace it. Also bought the Yamaha A-S300 for around £160 some years later. And through these years, I remember seeing plenty of affordable amplifiers around the £120 - £200 mark by brands like pioneer, Yamaha, Teac, Onkyo, Cambridge Audio, Dennon and quite a few others.

Now the budget ones seem to have gone and the starting point for amps with pretty much identical features to my A-209r seems to be around £300. There also seem to be loads that are well under £100 but to me it seems a bit suspicious that they look pretty good but are so cheap and yet there are none available that are in the price bracket I would be wiling to go for. The Yamaha A-S301 has all the features I would want, but is literally double what the AS-300 cost and the only addition seems to be a couple of digital inputs.

All this taken into account, a repair would probably be better!

As i'm not very familiar with this sort of thing, I probably will be better off sending it out to be repaired. I have found a local business that repairs these sort of things and as I don't want to risk experimenting myself any more than I have (spent quite a few hours checking cables, connectors and blowing the dust out)

i don't mind that much if the balance control isn't perfect as I use it on direct most of the time and that bypasses bass, treble, balance and loudness. The speaker buttons were initially a problem, but I'm not sure what the reason for the channel balance when on direct is.

The quoted price to diagnose the fault is very reasonable from what I've found out then They let you chose weather to go ahead and sort it out. If it is only a clean and a replacement of a cheap part, I don't think it will be much. I just don't want to risk these things myself.

Very true,, electronic components are cheap, it's all about labour. 

I'd gone ahead with this repair i mentioned, and it seemed fine for the first 2 months or so. I got told that they cover what they do for at least 3 months, so I should be OK. It has in the past few days it has gone back to being pretty close where I had it before.

It now cuts reduces volume significantly on the right channel when the volume dial is in a rather low position. The volume is also just slightly lower on the right side until you get up to moderately loud or over that. I've tested the headphone output too and that is the same. Tested my phono cables and they are not related.

The people that mended it told me that all they did was a thorough clean which I can believe as it had been the best it had been in years, but I not not so sure that there isn't actually some fault with the volume dial. I certainly think it has to be related to the volume pot not rather than the balance or anything else. Will see what they offer. Just seems a shame after paying for the service that it is effectively back to the performance it was at when i took it in to be repaired / cleaned.

I'm hoping that it will be possible to actually repair / replace the part that seems to have the issue this time if cleaning it hasn't fixed the issue in the long term.